The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Wednesday called two Indian cough syrups linked to the deaths of 19 children in Uzbekistan “substandard” and “contaminated.”
WHO STATEMENT
The WHO stated that the two products — Ambronol syrup and Doc-1 Max syrup — “fail to meet quality standards or specifications.” It added that the manufacturer of the syrups, Uttar Pradesh (UP)-based Marion Biotech Pvt Ltd, has “not provided guarantees” regarding the safety of these products.
The release noted that the cough syrups contained “unacceptable amounts” of contaminants diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol, warning that the consumption of these products “may result in serious injury or death,” especially in children.
In a span of three months, this is the second drug alert issued by @WHO after #Gambia alleging contaminated products manufactured by an Indian pharma company in #Uzbekistan
— Ayushmann Kumar (@Iam_Ayushmann) January 12, 2023
It will be important to see how Indian drug regulator responds to this. https://t.co/JdfGGlI3s6
Accordingly, the WHO urged regional health authorities to increase surveillance of medical supply chains and unregulated markets, stressing that countries should “detect and remove these substandard products from circulation.”
DEATHS IN UZBEKISTAN
Last month, 19 children died in Uzbekistan after consuming the Doc-1 Max cough syrup. The Uzbek Health Ministry said that the children developed an acute respiratory disease over a span of two months after consuming the India-made cough syrup.
An Uzbek parliamentary panel found that the syrup contaminants caused acute kidney injuries in the children.
Moreover, last week, nine children were admitted to a hospital in Tashkent after developing health complications due to the consumption of India-made cough syrup Doc-1 Max.
INDIA’S REACTION
While India initially demanded evidence of a link of causality between the deaths and the cough syrups, it later suspended the registration certificate of Marion Biotech Pvt Ltd. The UP government has also started a probe into the matter and ordered the company to pause all manufacturing activity until the investigation is completed.
SIMILAR INCIDENT IN GAMBIA
On October 5, the WHO issued a warning linking four Indian cough syrups to the deaths of 69 children between June and November in Gambia. The cough syrup similarly contained between 1.0% – 21.3% weight by volume of diethylene glycol.